Iraq

An international naval coalition is stepping up its presence in the Bab Al Mandeb strait in response to attacks on vessels passing Yemen’s rebel-held Red Sea coast and an increase in pirate activity. The strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is a key passage for …

TRIPOLI // Libyan authorities said on Monday that Muammar Qaddafi’s son Saif Al Islam was still wanted by a Tripoli court for a 2015 conviction, after a local militia said it had freed him. Saif, the second son and heir apparent of the late deposed Libyan dictator, was said to …

ABU DHABI // Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain will make exceptions on humanitarian grounds for some Qatari residents who have been ordered to leave the three countries. The GCC countries said on Sunday that Qataris married to their own citizens will be exempt from the order, which was part …

Qatar has hired the law firm of a former attorney general under US president George W Bush to potentially lobby American government officials on its behalf over its links to militants. Doha has paid John Ashcroft’s firm US$2.5 million (Dh9.2m) to also audit its efforts at stopping terrorism funding. Reports …

TEHRAN // Iran says it has killed the alleged mastermind of twin attacks that killed 17 people in Tehran, and arrested nearly 50 people in connection with those assaults, officials said. The suspect left Iran for a neighbouring country following last week’s attacks, intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi was quoted by …

ABU DHABI // The UAE and Saudi Arabia along with the allied states who have joined them in isolating Qatar have named 59 individuals and 12 organisations for terror sanctions, putting increased pressure on Doha. The terrorist designations, also enacted by Bahrain and Egypt, were announced early on Friday, after …

TEHRAN // Five of the men who launched an attack in the heart of Iran’s capital previously fought for ISIL, the country’s intelligence ministry said on Thursday, acknowledging the first such assault by the extremists in the country. Wednesday’s attacks on Iran’s parliament and the tomb of its revolutionary leader …

TEHRAN // At least 12 people were killed when gunmen and suicide bombers stormed Iran’s parliament and the shrine of its revolutionary leader on Wednesday, in the first ISIL-claimed attacks to hit the country. Dozens were injured in the attacks, which targeted two of Iran’s most potent symbols: its parliament …

Members of Iranian forces and people take cover during a gun attack at the parliament’s building in central Tehran. Tima via Reuters The body of a terrorist, at background left, lies on the ground while police control the scene at the shine of late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. …